Apple

First noticed by French news outlet Jeanne Magazine, Apple modified its Mother’s Day iPhone ad in several countries to remove a same-sex couple that appears in the United States version of the ad. The couple does not appear in the German, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, or French versions of the ad, while they do appear in the Mexican, Australian, and Canadian versions (via BuzzFeed News).

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We can usually get a decent idea of what the insides of an upcoming Mac will look like thanks to announcements from part manufacturers. A report last week detailed some of the changes that Apple has planned for its MacBook Pro refresh in the fourth quarter of this year and now Intel and Samsung have both made announcements that could offer a glimpse into what else Apple will introduce…

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Apple has made quite a lot of progress on its under construction “Campus 2” set to become the company’s new headquarters when complete around the end of the year. Since last checking in a month ago, a video update published today by Matthew Roberts for June shows continued progress on the roof of the main circular spaceship building, including a look at the heating and cooling systems installed throughout, and what looks to be some new outdoor areas surrounding the entrance of the underground theatre. Head below for a look at progress made in recent weeks. 
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The top Apple stories this week include reports of new MacBook models on the way, the latest rumored specs and features for iPhone 7, our roundup of features in the cards for iOS 10, and reports that Apple is developing dedicated hardware and a new SDK for Siri. As usual, below we’ve collected all of the handy links to these and our other top stories this week.

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Amazon was first with its Echo Wi-Fi speaker — a dedicated, standalone hub for its Alexa virtual assistant software — and now word has it Apple is working on a similar product for Siri. The several reports this week detailing Apple’s plans followed Google’s unveiling of its competitive Home hardware and Assistant platform at its Google I/O developer conference earlier this month. But what exactly will Apple’s competitor look like? And how will its reported plans for a Siri SDK play into its approach?

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Apple today debuted a new Arabic version of Apple.com, bringing the language to its website and online store for the first time alongside a new font right-to-left text.

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In India, it’s required that any company wanting to set up a retail location must sell at least 30 percent locally sourced goods, but reports claimed that because of Apple’s “cutting-edge technology,” it would be able to circumvent this requirement. According to a report from Reuters today, however, that is not the case.

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A new dual-camera system, storage and RAM upgrades, a tweaked physical design, and possibly the Smart Connector that debuted on Apple’s iPad Pro line. Those are just a few of the upgrades possibly expected for Apple’s next flagship iPhone lineup, not to mention a lot of discussion over what it has planned for its bundled headphones now that it’s expected to ditch the old 3.5mm headphone jack with iPhone 7. Here’s what we know so far.

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While many are still waiting for Apple to officially announce the iPhone 7 this fall, some have already turned their attention to what the company has up its sleeve for next year’s iPhone. According to a report from Bloomberg, suppliers are already preparing to mass produce OLED displays for next year’s flagship device.

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As part of his tour throughout India, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this past week to discuss the company’s plans in the country. This isn’t the first time the two have met, but this meeting comes as Foxconn is planning a manufacturing plant in India while Apple plans to open two new establishments, as well as three retail stores.

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Earlier this week, we saw a leaked image appear showing the 4.7-inch model and its potential support for laser auto focus. It’s been rumored for a while now that the iPhone 7 Plus, however, will see even more camera updates with a new dual-camera setup on the back. In March, leaked images emerged claiming to show the alleged dual-camera module and now a new leak from Weibo has emerged corroborating the earlier images and showing potential for a 256GB storage tier (via Steven Hemmerstoffer).

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Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for an extended interview with NDTV while in India this week and in it discusses the latest on Apple Pay negotiations, bringing Apple retail to India, and discussions with carriers and government officials while visiting the country.

While noting several large investments Apple is announcing in India, including the opening of a new development office that will create 4,000 jobs and a new accelerator program for app developers, Cook also confirmed talks with Indian banks for Apple Pay and much more:

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Update: Here’s Apple’s comment on the matter:

We’re working on a fix for an issue impacting a small number of iPad units that are receiving an error when trying to update the software. We’ll issue an update as quickly as possible”

Apple has today pulled iOS 9.3.2 for the 9.7 inch iPad Pro, following reports that users were seeing their iPads bricked after updating to the latest iOS release on Monday. The bug does not affect the larger, 12.9 inch iPad Pro. After updating, users seeing the bug would be prompted to Connect to iTunes on the iPad display. However, aside from an Error 56 debug message, the device could not be restored through iTunes or DFU.

Apple acknowledged the issue yesterday in a press statement, suggesting affected users who cannot restore through iTunes should instead contact Apple Support. There is no word on a temporary fix for users who have already been impacted by the problem. It is likely Apple will re-release iOS 9.3.2 for the relevant models soon.

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While recent reports have detailed talks between Apple and BMW related to Apple’s behind-the-scenes electric car project, BMW has long been one of the last major holdouts to bring Apple’s current in-dash CarPlay platform to its vehicles. That looks like it will change later this year when at least two models will get support for CarPlay.
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As CEO Tim Cook was meeting with Prime Minister Modi and partying with Bollywood stars, Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson was also in India. As reported by Yahoo India, the Apple executive was visiting “solar mamas” and a rural school where students were being taught via iPad lessons.

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Earlier this year, we reported that Mac OS X 10.12 would bring Siri support as one of the tentpole features. Apple is likely to introduce the next big update to OS X in just a few weeks at its annual WWDC event, and now we’re learning a bit more about what the company has in store. A new report today brings to light the possibility that Apple could add Touch ID support to OS X with 10.12, as well.

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Earlier this year, rumors started circulating that Apple would switch to a glass design for the 2017 iPhone lineup, somewhat reminiscent of that of the iPhone 4. Now Carter Technology chief executive Allen Horng says that only one model of the 2017 iPhone lineup will adopt that glass design. Carter Technology is a key iPhone casing supplier.

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In a press release, Apple has announced it is opening a new development office in Hyderabad, India. The team located here will apparently focus on improving Apple Maps, which is deeply integrated across Apple’s hardware and software as dedicated apps and embedded in other services, like Siri. The new center will create up to 4000 new jobs in the local economy. It is currently unclear as to the nature of the workforce, as Apple has preferred to keep its core software engineering team in California with most working solely in Cupertino.

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According to a new report from the New York Post, Apple is looking to expand on its iconic Fifth Avenue retail location. While the company renovates the historic cube designed building, it will open in “some or all” of the 61,000-square foot FAO Schwarz space in the GM building. The report notes, however, that the temporary expansion could turn in to a permanent one seeing as how cramped the Fifth Avenue store has become.

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